The state commission that referees disputes over public meetings will be asked to review Butte County's recent hiring of a new director of equalization.

Local media and an informal group of citizens protested the special Sept. 3 meeting. County commissioners last week rescinded the action and decided to restart the hiring process.

County State's Attorney Timothy Vander Heide said the board was not admitting any wrongdoing, and he has decided not to press charges.

"I have concluded that criminal prosecution of the matter would be inappropriate," he said in a news release.

However, Vander Heide has sent media and citizen complaints on to the state open meetings commission. Generally, the complaints are that the board failed to provide notice of the meeting to local media as required and that the hiring action was not specified.

The county auditor said the meeting notice was posted at the courthouse in Belle Fourche 24 hours before the meeting as required by law. The agenda later provided to the Belle Fourche newspaper only stated that candidates for the position would be interviewed.

The state Attorney General's office fields open meetings complaints for the commission. A spokeswoman said Monday that a fall meeting of the board has not been scheduled.

The open meetings commission can dismiss the complaint or it can censure a governmental board for a violation of the law.

A circuit court judge found in a Fall River County case that hiring or firing a person by a public governing board is null when that action is not on the agenda.